Bruins fans spending less on playoff tickets after long-awaited championship

The Bruins have a chance to eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Stanley Cup playoffs tonight and it’s tough to get a ticket to the game at TD Garden.

But not quite as tough as it used to be.

The average price to see a first-round playoff game at the Garden is $236.12 on the secondary ticket market, 5 percent lower than prices commanded two years ago, when the Bruins were on their way to ending a 39-year championship drought.

The dip suggests a psychological shift among fans of a championship-starved sports franchise. The pursuit of a long-awaited prize—and the hope that this is the year—may be more compelling than the quest to win it all again.